Texas Border Business
WESLACO— The Board of Directors of the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA) announced today the hiring of Victor Vasquez as Executive Director.
“We are very excited to have Victor join the VIDA team. His years of national exposure and experience in related fields of work will undoubtedly be of great consequence to our organization and the Rio Grande Valley,” commented Tony Aguirre, VIDA’s Chairman of the Board. “It took us a long time to find a replacement and we are grateful to Myra for helping us through the transition; further testament to her professionalism and her dedication to VIDA. They say, ‘good things come to those who wait’. VIDA waited to find the right match and Victor Vasquez is the perfect fit for our organization!”
Vasquez has served in the administrations of President Clinton and President Obama. He first entered federal service under President Clinton serving as the Deputy Administrator for Rural Development, launching the Rural Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Communities and then as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Department of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy. Most recently, Vasquez served in President Obama’s Administration as Deputy Under Secretary at the United States Department of Agriculture.
“It is an honor to have been offered the opportunity to serve as the Executive Director of VIDA, an organization that has built a reputation of success and strong leadership,” said Vasquez. “I have the great fortune of joining a team that is clearly unified in its vision, purpose and mission. It is clear that community leaders throughout the Rio Grande Valley are committed to serving the citizens of the region.”
The majority of his work has been in the area of education and community and economic development. Throughout his career, he has focused his interest in community empowerment, local decision-making, leadership, and developing economic development strategies in impoverished regions.
Myra Caridad García, who served as VIDA’s executive director for the last six years, stepped down to attend to family medical issues. A statewide search was conducted by the VIDA board of directors, a search which lasted just under year. García continued as executive director during the search for her replacement.
“Victor Vasquez brings not only tremendous experience to VIDA, but also a personal connection to the body of work. The combination makes him the ideal person; someone who is passionate, committed, and capable of catapulting VIDA to the next level of service in this region. I am proud to leave VIDA in such capable and caring hands. He is going to be phenomenal!” shared García.
During the past six years, García took over a struggling organization and turned it into the healthy community based program that it is today. Successful collaborations with national philanthropic organizations have brought millions of dollars to help the underserved adult population of the Rio Grande Valley.
Vasquez comes in on the heels of recent exciting announcements. VIDA was recently awarded $500,000 from the Texas Innovative Adult Career Education (ACE) Grant Program to fund workforce and economic development efforts in Texas. Additionally, VIDA secured a $100,000 grant from Educate Texas, earmarked to move College Prep Academy completers forward through the educational pipeline and enroll in course work that ultimately will lead to an associate’s degree or a college certification.
Most notable of García’s successes was the selection of VIDA to be one of nineprograms from across the nation – the only Texas based organization – to be a key partner for the nationwide Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self Sufficiency (ISIS) evaluation project. This, an evaluation of promising program models with proven track records of success in assisting economically disadvantaged adults in the United States achieve self-sufficiency. VIDA’s model has received national recognition and with that, nearly $2 million dollars of additional training dollars for the Rio Grande Valley. ISIS is administered through Abt Associates and is fully funded by the U.S. Health and Human Services Planning, Research and Evaluation Office of the Administration for Children and Families
Vasquez holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Oregon, a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and is currently working towards a doctorate degree in Community and Economic Development. He resides in Mission with his wife and two children.
VIDAis a community based, non-profit 501 (c) (3) agency. Created in 1995, VIDA was the result of a local effort led by community leaders of Valley Interfaith and private industry business leaders. The impetus was the need to empower the underserved residents of our region with the tools, education and training to become self-sufficient while fueling the growth of the existing employers and increasing the recruitment of new investment to the area by developing a highly skilled workforce.
